Upcycled Polka Dot Container

Level:Easy

Time:5 minutes active, 25 minutes inactive

Cost:Under $5

We've mentioned before we "collect" various odds and ends KNOWING we will eventually need them for some upcycle project, and today's tutorial is a perfect example. When we made 3 ingredient fudge a couple weeks ago, we had a tin can we washed out and saved and today we are going to turn it into a cute holder for pens, silverware, or the like! This is a win-win people, you take an item from your "I'm a collector of abundant "trash" storage" and you use it to become more organized! WIN-WIN!

What You'll Need:

Tin Can - Preferably cleaned and dried

Paper - At least 2 inches longer than the circumference of your can and 2" taller than your can

Bubble Wrap - You know you've got some stashed from your last online order arrival.

Paint - Today we used Blickrylic "Florecent Red" (About $4 for the big bottle)

Paint Brush

Jute or Ribbon -Needs to be long enough to tie a bow around your can

Tape

Scissors

You'll start by getting a piece of paper larger than your can.

Then gauge the area of bubble wrap you will need to paint in order to cover the can. (You can do this by rolling the can in bubble wrap)

You can make a mark if that helps you remember the area you need to paint.

Paint the bubble side of the bubble wrap

Completely cover the area you need with a layer of paint, but make sure there's not pools of paint sitting inbetween the row of bubbles. We make a quick pass again over the entire area with our brush once the area is covered. You need to work kind of quickly at this stage because paint dries...

Place, paint side down, in the middle of the piece of paper you are using. Lightly press down using your hands all over the back of the bubble wrap to make sure it is pressed against the paper.

Peel back the bubble wrap to reveal your polka dot paper and let dry. Which honestly won't be too much longer, but totally an excuse to knock out some chore you've been dreading because when said chore is finished, you get to come back and complete a fun project. YAY!

Ok, once the paint has dried, cut the polka dot paper so the paper will extend at least 2" over the tin can (height and circumference). (You will be folding the paper over the lip and under the bottom of the can, which is why you need the excess)

Place the paper, dot side down, and center the tin can, top to bottom, at one edge of the paper, place a piece of tape to keep it from slipping and begin rolling the can in the paper.

Roll until you reach the end of the paper (or overlap the tape by 2" and trim the rest).

At this point you will need your jute or ribbon to place against the seam.

Pull the ends of the jute toward what will be the front of your holder and tie a bow to secure your paper.

At this point you will begin to fold the paper over the lip (open end) of the can.

Pinch the paper against the inside of the can

Continue folding the paper down around around the edges of the can

Fold the paper down around the edges until you can smooth out the paper and pinch around the perimeter of the can.

Now for the bottom. This will be the same idea, only the folds will lay down on the bottom of the can rather than folding over the lip. So begin by pushing the paper towards the center of the can.

Crease and turn the can clockwise (or ccw if you prefer) and fold the next section down trying to maintain the rounded shape of the bottom.

Continue around the edge with you folds like so and making sure you crease your folds well:

Keep creasing your folds and continuing around the bottom of the can until you get to the last fold then run your finger around the edge to make sure the folds are creased.

Our bottom folds were pretty sturdy and stayed put without any tape, but you may prefer to add tape to the folds at this point to ensure they stay put.

Turn your can right side up and you should see your cute new holder!

Now fill it with that group of pens you store in a pile on your desk, or use it as a silverware holder for a gathering you're hosting! Trust us, it's a converstation piece, and if you're doing DIY projects, you probably enjoy bragging about your inexpensive upcycled projects as much as we do:)